Gotcha, and agreed. Frankly, I wouldn't lift it at all for 33s. I'd grab a set of wheels and tires and be done

Would depend on where your jk sits in its stock configuration. If you have a jku and your front spring tag part # ends in 19 & rear ends in 60 (ignoring the letter), then you have max height stock springs. From the data that Ive seen, stock ride height will decrease 0.4"-0.5" for each decrease numerical value below that number. In the case of my jku, I have 17 front & 58 rear. My 2.5" BB puts my "lift" at 1.5" above what's generally reported as "stock" (measuring 3 different ways). I wouldn't want to run 33's on my stick setup.

Fwiw... This is a large part of the reason that 2 jk's may get different net lift from the same spring replacement.

Would depend on where your jk sits in its stock configuration. If you have a jku and your front spring tag part # ends in 19 & rear ends in 60 (ignoring the letter), then you have max height stock springs. From the data that Ive seen, stock ride height will decrease 0.4"-0.5" for each decrease numerical value below that number. In the case of my jku, I have 17 front & 58 rear. My 2.5" BB puts my "lift" at 1.5" above what's generally reported as "stock" (measuring 3 different ways). I wouldn't want to run 33's on my stick setup.

Fwiw... This is a large part of the reason that 2 jk's may get different net lift from the same spring replacement.

Sorry about the long winded response.

This is the stuff that kind of irritates me. Why confuse the OP, or others. Read the original post and give information based of what's needed.
If you read the OP, it's a 2012 2DR, so throw the JKU opinion out the window. Even on 14/53 it will run 33s fine, especially for his needs.
If you want to be as cheap as possible and gain a little lift, hit up your local 4x4 shop that does lifts and tell them you really need some take off springs from a JKU, which are usually 18/58 or so...flip the guy a $20 and I'm sure he'd help you out as they generally just toss them.
If you decide you want a little more, there are spring pucks that range from .5"-2.0", I've used the Daystar 1.75" and combined with bigger springs got 3" of lift. This wouldn't be my first choice for serious offloading, but perfect for moderate fire trails and forest roads, as well as a DD. keep in mind that when you cross that 2" threshold you are gonna want to address the exhaust crossover and front driveshaft and the evap canister and rear drive shaft.

This is the stuff that kind of irritates me. Why confuse the OP, or others. Read the original post and give information based of what's needed.
If you read the OP, it's a 2012 2DR, so throw the JKU opinion out the window. Even on 14/53 it will run 33s fine, especially for his needs.
If you want to be as cheap as possible and gain a little lift, hit up your local 4x4 shop that does lifts and tell them you really need some take off springs from a JKU, which are usually 18/58 or so...flip the guy a $20 and I'm sure he'd help you out as they generally just toss them.
If you decide you want a little more, there are spring pucks that range from .5"-2.0", I've used the Daystar 1.75" and combined with bigger springs got 3" of lift. This wouldn't be my first choice for serious offloading, but perfect for moderate fire trails and forest roads, as well as a DD. keep in mind that when you cross that 2" threshold you are gonna want to address the exhaust crossover and front driveshaft and the evap canister and rear drive shaft.

This kind of stuff irritates me... Someone suggests a solution to a problem. Another persons suggests that it might not work and provides a real world, factual example from their own experience to illustrate how that solution might not work. Then some one else, who "can't see the forest for the trees", wants to get all pissy, because the factual example, while completely applicable to the question at hand, doesn't use the exact same piece of equipment as what the OP has.

Simple enough.......OP has 2DR 2012 JK......look, I understand people want to take part in conversations, and help people, and seem knowledgable.....but people posting "well I did this with a 2011 JKU...." Is not relevant to the OP....who again has a 2012 2DR Jk.
From EXPERIENCE (you know, practical application, actually doing it) JK spring number are in 1/4" increments...on a 2DR JK. Going from 14-18 is exactly one inch of lift in the front and from 54 to 58 is exactly one inch in the rear.
I apologize, this is just a pet peeve of mine on these forums, these are a group of people here who do a great job helping guiding others (JLC08JK, Molshove, 1222, Doc, and a few others) , and then there are the people who just like to chime in whether their information is relevant or not..and while it may be good general information, is doesnt really do anything besides confuse the person needing the information.
OP, trust me, check your spring numbers, it'll be the two number combo at the end right before a two letter combo....check both front and back. A 2DR stock 2012jK you probably have 13/14 in front and 54 in the rear. You can probably get some from a local shop who does lifts, or check anything like Craigslist for take offs. Or you could spend $150 on the Daystar 1.75" coil spacers which are very simple to install, give your Jeep a nice even lift, and don't affect your ride at all (no new shocks, no exhaust mods, no evap canister mods).

To make this as simple as possible.... Does existence different stock spring strength/length, which leads to different fender clearance heights for different JK's (2dr as well as 4dr) apply to the OP's case and the suggestion of "I wouldn't lift it at all for 33s"? Yes it does. Does providing an actual example where a JK sites 1" lower than some others (but not all others) provide pertinent information to that discussion? Does providing the OP a method to estimate how much his/her JK might sit below the max for their vehicle (i.e, if your spring number is 1 below max, then your JK will sit 0.4-0.5" below max) contribute to the OP being able to make a better informed decision? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding "YES".

Now that we've established the fact that every point that I shared had a direct and meaningful impact on the OP's decision, what are you whining about?

btw.... there are JK owners who report 2" of lift by going from 14 to 19. That's 5 units for 2" which is 0.4" per unit.

I owe you an apology... In case you couldn't tell, I have my own pet peeve.

People in these forums insist that you have to spend big bucks doing "by the seat of your pants" changes to Jeeps to get an idea of how things might work, owners make changes, like lifting them, adding bigger tires, etc. Fact is, we can look at the results that others got with various changes and get a rough estimate of what is likely to happen (and you don't have to be a mechanic who's done 5,000 lift kit installs to get that insight, as some would suggest).

I owe you an apology... In case you couldn't tell, I have my own pet peeve.

People in these forums insist that you have to spend big bucks doing "by the seat of your pants" changes to Jeeps to get an idea of how things might work, owners make changes, like lifting them, adding bigger tires, etc. Fact is, we can look at the results that others got with various changes and get a rough estimate of what is likely to happen (and you don't have to be a mechanic who's done 5,000 lift kit installs to get that insight, as some would suggest).

No apology necessary....I think we both kinda misunderstood the other. And I think we are both trying to get this kid where he wants to be as cheaply as possible.
I'm cheap, I want the best possible performance out of the least money spent...I wont sacrifice quality or safety, but theres no sense in spending more money on a mod than necessary. I agree that too many people want everyone here to buy coil overs, an Atlas transfer case, Hemi, etc....when its not their money being spent. When I give advice, I always keep it as cost effective as possible. If this young man is gonna stick to roads, light trails, and just wants a lifted look, theres no sense in him spending hundreds of dollars.

I just put on a 2" Rancho kit. Came with new front coils, bumps stops, rear spacers, rear brake line relocation bracket and 4 new shocks. Rancho 5000 for the front and Rancho 9000 for the rear. A buddy of mine and I installed it in about 2 hours. Love the ride and just enough lift. Price was $310 with free shipping. Might be a good option for you.

I just put on a 2" Rancho kit. Came with new front coils, bumps stops, rear spacers, rear brake line relocation bracket and 4 new shocks. Rancho 5000 for the front and Rancho 9000 for the rear. A buddy of mine and I installed it in about 2 hours. Love the ride and just enough lift. Price was $310 with free shipping. Might be a good option for you.

Thanks for all of the input guys. Here's another question that I came across today, with 33's do I need to re-gear my Jeep? My 33's are 305/60/18. I have noticed that people said with 35's you need to re-gear but I haven't heard anything about 33's. I just noticed that my Jeep is super sluggish in 6th and I literally have to be going down hill or on perfectly flat terrain on the hwy to pick up any speed and actually not decrease speed without letting up on acceleration.

Search the forums for the gear chart to get an idea of what you are working with, depending on whether you have the 3.21 or 3.73 gears. If you have the 3.21, a regear is about your only option. The 3.73 with a manual is right at the limit of whats acceptable.
The real problem is a heavy tire and wheel combo, personally, I'm a fan of 15" combos because of price and options (I use MB TKOs and 33x12.5x15 Duratracs which come in about 3lb over the stock combo and offer tremendously better performance). Only you can decide whether to regear...its not a cheap solution, but definitely the best

Search the forums for the gear chart to get an idea of what you are working with, depending on whether you have the 3.21 or 3.73 gears. If you have the 3.21, a regear is about your only option. The 3.73 with a manual is right at the limit of whats acceptable.
The real problem is a heavy tire and wheel combo, personally, I'm a fan of 15" combos because of price and options (I use MB TKOs and 33x12.5x15 Duratracs which come in about 3lb over the stock combo and offer tremendously better performance). Only you can decide whether to regear...its not a cheap solution, but definitely the best

Well I bought the Jeep with the 33" tire and 18" wheel combo. Will there be any damage or lasting effects other than my Jeep driving sluggish if I choose not to re-gear?

Well I bought the Jeep with the 33" tire and 18" wheel combo. Will there be any damage or lasting effects other than my Jeep driving sluggish if I choose not to re-gear?

No, not really. You'll just have to live with the sluggishness....its been known to drive a few here over the edge, but if you can live with it you'll be fine.
If you can live with it for now, you can save up some money and really plan out your build, if you choose to....However, being a member here you'll catch the bug and spend far too much time and money on your Jeep.

No, not really. You'll just have to live with the sluggishness....its been known to drive a few here over the edge, but if you can live with it you'll be fine.
If you can live with it for now, you can save up some money and really plan out your build, if you choose to....However, being a member here you'll catch the bug and spend far too much time and money on your Jeep.

+2 on this. Spend time here and you will be broke before you know it. I have a serious addiction to this Jeep thing.